Over my winter holidays, I went to Taiwan for 4 days. When I got back, I immeadiately uploaded photos, wrote most of the this post, and then proceeded to forget about it for 3 months. Oops. So today I thought I'd finish it.
I arrived in Taiwan on Christmas day. I found the hotel, checked in, and had a delicious lunch of beef noodle soup. Then I set out exploring. First stop: Baoan Temple(保安宮), a 30 minute walk from my hotel.
Out of all of the Asian temples I've been to, this was the first Taoist one. It isn't a particularly impressive temple, nor is it a place most tourists bother with; however it is full of old Chinese men playing
go. I was actually going to the famous, must-see Confucious Temple nearby, but it was closed for renovation. Such is life.
Next, I hopped on the subway and made my way to Longshan Temple. The name--龍山寺--means dragon mountain. According to my guide book, "religious life is alive and kicking" at Longshan Temple. This huge mob of people was moving around in a a rough circle and chanting, which I can only presume was religious. I dislike crowds immensely so I got out of there rather quickly,
and out into one of the lovely courtyards. Locals kept offering to take my picture with my camera for a few Taiwanese dollars. Being both rather suspicious and emotionally attached to my camera, I got a fellow tourist to snap this instead.
That night I ventured to Huanxi Night Market, aka Snake Alley. The Lonely Planet description of this place was brilliant.
Once considered a Taipei must see... nowadays [it] is considered more of a window into Taiwan's less enlightened past, when the live skinning of reptiles for the benefit of passing tourists was considered an appropriate form of cultural expression...Taipei dwellers might bring their visitors from abroad to Snake Alley and express mild amusement as their foreign guests squirmed at the sight of a local merchant baiting a cobra... before slitting its belly and offering the foreigners a shot glass of snake bile mixed with Kaoliang liquor... If you'd like to watch a snake handler barking like a carnie...
After reading that, how could I not go and check it out? However, the realty was quite different. If was an upscale market with nary a snake in sight. The book warned of sketchy alleyways and dark corners of which to beware in this bed of sin. At the raunchiest end, I saw what looked like a PG-13 attempt at a red-light district, but most of it was child-friendly. It was more expensive than the other markets, too.
I woke up early the next morning and decided to walk around a bit. I stopped and took some pictures at a temple with no English signage. When I returned to the hotel, I asked someone the name, but I can't find where I wrote it down, so I know it only as 景福宮--happy scenery shrine.
More people chanting; I don't know why.
Next I took the subway to the tallest building in the world, Taipei 101. Yes, it was really tall. My ears popped in the elevator and everything. Somehow, I don't share my father's fascination for skyscrapers, so I everytime I visit one, I always wonder what exactly I'm supposed to be getting out of it. Up to the top--check. Nice view--check. Now what?
At about noon I left for a tour of the Wulai village south of Taipei. The waterfall--the village's claim to fame--was lovely, but I couldn't get very close. The aboriginal culture show was interesting, but it lost points for authenticity since you just knew these people were going to put on jeans, go home, and play WoW as soon as they left work.
After dinner that evening, I went to the Shilin night market. Basically the same as every other night market, but it's always fun. Just walk around looking at counterfeit purses while eating one of everything (it's best to go on an empty stomach). The pork buns I had were absolutely delicious. I should have bought this T-shirt. I really should have.
The third day was the highlight of the trip. I took an all day tour of the Taroko Gorge located on the east part of the main island. Prior to the gorge, I'd been feeling a little disappointed with Taiwan. I found it sort of like Beijing-
lite. But the gorge was just as beautiful as all of the guide books and websites made it out to be.
I wish they had let us climb up there.
After the gorge before the plane back to Taipei, we got to spend a little time at a beach. It was too cold for swimming, and from the signs posted I gather the ocean's pretty dangerous even when it's warm enough.
The next morning I let myself sleep in late, which I usually don't do when sightseeing. The first 3 days were tiring! Yet on my last day, I still managed to get in quite a few things.
I went to the Martyrs' Shrine first, which honors Taiwan's war causulties. It was probably the prettiest shrine I saw in Taiwan. I was able to get some good through-doorway pictures.
But the main reason people visit this shrine is to see the changing of the guard. In America there would have been ropes and security to make sure no one got to close to the soldiers during the ceremony. In Taiwan I think the soldiers just run you over.
After the shrine I went to the Chinese Handicraft Mart where I purchased a vase for my mother.
Next on the list was the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. Only when I got there, I found the like most things referencing Chiang Kai Shek, it has been renamed. So I visited the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall. Names aside, the inside was a museum devoted to the life of Chiang Kai Shek. I wonder if they'll try to rename everything inside as well... The grounds were lovely, but I
ran out of memory! Though I must have a dozen SD cards, I only brought 1gb with me, foolishly thinking that would be enough for a mere 5 days. Ha! Last time I make that mistake. Anyhow, I was able to get my pics transferred onto a CD so I could keep using my card. Crisis over.
The very last morning, before I caught my plane back to Japan, I went on one more excursion. This one was to the Zhinan temple in Maokong, which required taking the train south of Taipei and then taking a gondola up to the temple. It was absolutely magnificent. Trying to figure out transportation and waiting in the line for 2 hours for the gondola (no, I could
not have walked it), I was beginning to feel like I made a mistake in trying to squeeze this in. If it didn't actually make me miss my plane, it was certainly making me stressed. However, the temple was worth it. Besides being a gorgeous temple, it had a spectacular mountain view.
And that was the end of my trip. I made it back to the hotel and to the airport on time. Then upon arriving in Fukuoka, I again had the puzzling thought, "It's nice to be back where people speak
English a comprehensible language."
